Ch.252Plague (6)

“…You’re still not fully conscious.”

“W-what?! What do you mean… No! I’ve spoken nothing but the absolute truth!”

Upon hearing my words, Rudolf wails in protest, insisting he’s told only the truth, as if he thinks he’s being accused of lying. It seems easy to guess what might happen when a mere commoner, not some powerful noble, is perceived to have lied to the king.

“Of course you spoke the truth. What I mean is that you haven’t told the whole truth.”

“That is…”

“As I thought, you’re well aware of it. Was elevating Lotaring and denigrating others truly just for the sake of honor?”

Denigrating foreigners as slave races and inferior beings to elevate his own honor? That makes absolutely no sense.

No matter how obsessed with honor a person might be, such actions require an underlying ideology. Honor-seeking is just that—it doesn’t create something from nothing.

In other words, this fellow genuinely believes Lotaringians are superior and has been denigrating others based on that belief.

“…No, Your Majesty. I sincerely believe Lotaringians are superior. Everything I’ve done was motivated by both my desire for honor and that belief.”

Unlike moments ago when he was making a fuss begging for his life, Rudolf continues the conversation in a flat, resigned tone.

“Why? Why do you think that way?”

“What? Well… isn’t it obvious? Your Majesty would know better than I do, but considering the disgraceful behavior shown by Albion and the Empire, wouldn’t anyone naturally think the same?”

“If it’s so obvious, why did you hide it?”

“That… I suppose I didn’t feel the need to mention it because it seemed so obvious. I apologize, Your Majesty.”

“…I see, I understand now.”

Rudolf believes without a shred of doubt that Lotaringians are superior, and by extension, that I, as their leader, am superior as well.

At first, I thought he was just using religious and class-based arguments to make his claims more persuasive to others, but it turns out he genuinely believes what he’s saying, which is why he used such reasoning.

And Rudolf’s religious and class-based arguments sounded highly convincing to the medieval people who heard them.

As I’ve said before, there was a reason the citizens with strong medieval mindsets were so enthusiastic about his speech. It seems to suit medieval tastes perfectly.

‘This means I’ll need to deal with Rudolf publicly later.’

People who believe they’re justified tend to become more entrenched in their beliefs when oppressed, developing a rebellious streak rather than backing down. This is common to almost everyone, not just specific individuals.

In other words, at this point when many people have been influenced by Rudolf’s claims, publicly punishing him would only further spread such ideology. The same outcome would occur even if I issued an edict prohibiting such thoughts.

Above all, there’s no proper justification for punishing people who speak like this. Regardless of the reason, how could I criminalize actions that endlessly praise the country, its people, and its king?

“Your Majesty, I know it’s shameless of me to ask, but please show mercy! I’ll spend the rest of my life atoning by praising you even more, so please spare my life…!”

Rudolf’s attitude demonstrates exactly what would happen if I took such action.

He thinks he was brought here for insulting me while I was undercover, not because there’s anything wrong with praising the Kingdom of Lotaring, its king, and its people under my rule.

Moreover, the peoples Rudolf has denigrated are all enemy nations—countries that have either fought against Lotaring or maintained hostile diplomatic relations.

When it comes to disparaging enemy nations while elevating one’s own country, no one would consider that a crime, not just in medieval times but even in the modern era.

“…There are three conditions for sparing your life.”

“Please tell me, Your Majesty!”

“First, stop denigrating other peoples. If you do that, won’t they resist more strongly when they eventually come under my rule?”

There are actually better and more definitive reasons, but most of them could only be used in the late 20th century when science and society were more advanced.

After all, such eugenic ideas were still rampant pseudoscience even in 1960s America, which had sent people to the moon. It’s naturally almost impossible to convince medieval people using modern reasoning when their scientific and social understanding is much lower.

In other words, for those persuaded by eugenics, it’s more effective to directly discourage them by saying what I just did—that denigrating others makes governance difficult.

“…!”

Rudolf’s eyes widen as if he’s realized something after hearing my reasoning.

Clearly, this was the right approach rather than talking about biological diversity, gene pools, expressed genes, mutations, dominant and recessive genes, ethics and morality—things medieval people wouldn’t understand well.

…I wonder what future generations will think of this, but for now, I need to put out the immediate fire.

“Second, stop promoting the idea that Lotaringians are inherently superior. No matter how good the intention, arrogance is the quickest path to downfall. I don’t want people who have achieved nothing to become complacent and self-satisfied merely because they’re Lotaringian.”

“People who have achieved nothing becoming complacent… Yes, Your Majesty!!”

Fortunately, this point seems persuasive as well. More precisely, it means Rudolf is intelligent enough to quickly understand what I’m trying to say… well, he must be intelligent to be able to easily sway crowds.

“Finally, third, clean up the mess you’ve made. I mean your actions of promoting Lotaringian superiority while denigrating other countries and their people.”

My officials and I could do it ourselves, but it would be more fitting and persuasive for the person who instigated these eugenic trends to eliminate them himself. Plus, from the manifestos posted in the square to his oratory skills, Rudolf’s ability to persuade is genuine, so I decided to entrust this to him.

“Yes, Your Majesty…! I will not disappoint you!”

While eugenic ideology is problematic, Rudolf’s basic thinking conforms to the social hierarchy and strong religious mindset, so he’s genuinely grateful that I spared his life.

That’s good spirit.

Well, if the results are unsatisfactory or he still hasn’t come to his senses, I can always deal with him later by charging him with insulting me.

……….

Despite his serious injuries from the arrest, Rudolf went straight to the square the next day and began speaking exactly as I had ordered.

The problem was that his words were a little… no, quite a lot different from what I expected.

[We Lotaringians must not denigrate our neighboring peoples but treat them kindly. This is an essential measure to reunite humanity, which was originally one couple, and to obey the prophet’s command to love our neighbors!]

[It is not the fault of the Imperial people that they live in filth and ignorance! As seen in the many achievements of His Majesty Claude to eliminate such bad customs, the suffering of the people is the sin of their rulers!]

[The Holy Empire and its leader, the Emperor, are nothing but robbers who have stolen those who should be His Majesty Claude’s subjects! Destroying the Holy Empire and making the Imperial people, our good neighbors, into His Majesty Claude’s subjects is the only way to show mercy and alleviate their suffering!]

[This so-called Holy Empire has nothing that isn’t ridiculous, from its system that causes innocent people to suffer to its very name. It claims to be holy yet is full of heresy, claims to be an empire yet its emperor lacks dignity—how can this be called a Holy Empire? The Imperial people suffering under such a terrible system must be liberated!]

[Working diligently is enough to knock on heaven’s door. It’s not just about growing crops when farming or making products in factories. Labor itself is sacred—it allows one to care for family, elevate personal glory and dignity, and is the easiest and fastest way to show loyalty to His Majesty!]

[Rather than asking what your country can do for you, think about what you can do for your country! Being able to work is a noble blessing, and through labor, one must repay the grace of God and His Majesty!]

…What the hell.

No, how should I put this… something has gone very wrong?

He certainly removed all the eugenic material from his speeches and re-mobilized the people to eliminate the wrong ideology, exactly as I said.

But it’s just… somehow very concerning?

It’s as if I’ve been given a clear destiny by God to devote my life to conquering the Empire.

“Hmm…”

“Well, it’s fine.”

Not just the attendants but also my wives are nodding in approval at the report of Rudolf’s speech. Even Ellen, who had extremely negative feelings toward Rudolf after the incident in the square.

When I cautiously suggested that perhaps Rudolf should be restrained, I received lukewarm responses from the attendants, the intelligence office, and my wives.

Um… this isn’t right…?